Memory Inscribed
by Neranimmisar
Summary: Tales of Vesperia. Duke comes across an injured Estelle that can't remember how she got to his forest retreat. They are branded with a tattoo formula that is just the beginning of a whole new fate for Vesperia.
1. C1: Inscribed Solitude

_Warning: _There will be spoilers in this fiction. If you haven't at least completed one run through of the game you probably shouldn't read this.

_Notes:_ This will be a fiction where I toss Estelle and Duke together. If you don't want to read the pairing you probably shouldn't continue. Other characters will be around but I don't plan on tossing in any other 'pairs' romantically.

_Disclaimer: _I do not own Tales of Vesperia or the character's thereof. I own original characters and I'd like it if you go nuts and decide to use any that you get permission - but I don't expect it.

**Chapter One:** _Inscribed Solitude_

_"Our reason has driven all away. Alone at last, we end up ruling over a desert."_

**-Albert Camus**

Blotches of gold, ivory, and garnet were strewn across a verdant landscape, other colors drowning amidst a dozen shades of green and brown. It was one of those places that you would normally only see in pictures, the land almost completely retaken from man. Only a small path and a weathered which was mostly overgrown with ivy remained as any proof that this place was sometimes walked by human society. Dew sparkled in the early morning light, more colors seeming to come to life with the rising of the sun and the waking of the forests creatures. A veritable Eden wrapped itself around her consciousness as she began to wake.

It was still blurry though, the light and colors not helping a already reeling mind to focus. She blinked several times to try to focus herself, her thoughts…to keep herself conscious. If monsters found her here there wouldn't be anyway she could defend herself if she couldn't even manage to look at her surroundings without balking. A pity too, such a breathtaking scene that she couldn't truly appreciate.

She pushed herself up just a few inches and was trembling so much it was all she could manage to sit up for now. She noted that the dress she was wearing was ripped along her stomach area and had turned into tatters along it's skirt- having grown short enough in it's disrepair that it was approaching the inappropriate but she was even less appreciating of the light scar on her skin underneath the torn clothing.

"_I was attacked?"_ She thought groggily, doing her best to focus on anything other than the dark spots spinning around in the lovely dreamlike forest she woke within. _"What happened? How did I get here…? I suppose I need to find out where here is. If I can manage to move…"_

Her whole body hurt, mostly where she'd been laying on her half-back/half-right side but there were muscles that ached that she never knew she had before. It was so much that she didn't really want to try to get to her feet.

"_How long have I been here?"_ Her thoughts at least seemed to be slowly clearing. The ground where she had been laying a moment before had an indent and the grass has been crushed from weight having been on it for an extended period of time. The indent though was several inches into the ground - part of what had made it so difficult to get up.

Then she realized she heard footfalls and raised her head to look around herself again, ignoring the spots still dancing over her vision. Then pausing to blink at the unique man approaching her. Surprised to see another person here at all.

His hair was such a soft white it almost seemed to let off a pale glow in the morning sun, the ivory bangs falling onto his face and flowing down to his lower back. He wore something akin to a crimson uniform with black and gold trim, a sable cloak broke in it's center just below where his hair fell and the two ends were left at the level of his calves. His features were smooth and also pale - though not nearly as much as his hair, almost elfish in nature. Blood red eyes were giving her a completely neutral stare as he walked up to where she was still gaping up at him on the forest floor.

"What are you doing here?" A deep baritone voice almost didn't seem to match him but definitely commanded attention. "Where is the rest of your group?"

"I…I'm…" she blinked, pausing as she tried to think of it. "I don't know."

"_I can't remember…" _She stared at her lap in silent shock as she wracked her brain, continuing to come up empty. _"I don't know why I'm here…or how I got here. I can't remember anything…who am I?"_

"You are injured." He observed, still not moving from his position. "This area is usually clear of monsters, did one attack you?"

"I don't know…" She repeated, shaking her head as fearful tears started to fill her eyes. "I can't remember anything…if there is a monster though we should leave."

She pushed herself again then, using the idea of moving as something to avoid thinking about the panic inducing emptiness of her mind, moving to her feet and then wavering as dizziness and pain slapped her respectively for her motion. Her stomach growled and if it hadn't been empty already there was a good chance it would have ended up that way. She stumbled and felt herself falling as the black dots expanded and pulled her back into the oblivion of unconsciousness.

_**oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**_

He watched the pretty young woman fall back to the forest floor, completely passed out from the extent of her injuries. Skin he remembered as a smooth peach was instead littered with small cuts and discolored a mixture of blues, browns, and blacks from the bruises that covered almost all of her back and right side. It was hard to tell but it seemed her hair didn't seem the same as it had once been, though it was caked with dirt and blood from her injuries what strands appeared clear of debris was a pale blue not the pink he recalled.

"You don't remember…" He remarked lightly, bending down with a sigh to pick her up from where she'd fallen. "A Child of the Full Moon falls into my back yard like this…I have to wonder what her young friends are up to."

As gently as he could manage he put one arm under her back and the other he began to put under her thighs but drew his hand back suddenly when touching her bare skin shocked him. She wasn't heavy but he didn't want to cause her anymore pain than necessary in moving her somewhere else, a few animals were lingering nearby sniffing at the new addition to the small forest he shared with them but not being as friendly with him as they might have been normally. He considered her passed out face and shook his head once, preparing to lift her from her thighs again when a sudden pain in his right arm drove him to his knees.

His crimson gaze widened as his arm twitched and it seemed as if someone was pressing a hot poker into the muscles of the appendage, as if someone had shoved it into a fire and was holding it there. He grit his teeth, he recognized the power curling around him - it felt very similar to how aer felt when it was used to power artes. Then as fast as it had begun it was over and he pulled back his shirt to look at a fresh tattoo covering his arm from wrist to elbow. A complicated series of circles that covered the flesh in a dark blue coloring.

He glanced back at the still resting princess and noted that a similar sigil covered her thigh where he'd initially touched her to pick her up, she was sweating now and the peaceful features she'd had moments before were drawn with lines of discomfort.

"What did you just do to me?" He spoke aloud though still softly, she couldn't hear him but somewhere along the line it made him feel better to hear even just himself in his solitude. "This can't bode well…"

He stared at the complicated circles that had been branded into his flesh, they looked too much like an aer formula for his tastes…with the aer under control had the Child's powers changed? It wasn't as if he'd taken much time to know the group that had saved their world. "Perhaps my separation from society does have it's flaws."

His arm still ached a bit but not as it had when the tattoo had first appeared, he was hesitant to touch the girl again but took a breath and reached down under her thighs to pick her up. He was too stubborn to just give up and he couldn't let her just stay, a fever had been added to her list of problems…likely one of her many wounds had gotten infected during her vacation on the forest floor.

He lifted her then, ignoring the shooting pains from the clothing rubbing on his raw brand and walked off toward the cabin he'd built for himself, a lot of the animals still were following from a distance but just as many had continued their daily lives unaware of the plight of their 'friend'.

He only had a single bed and he settled her there. It wasn't as if he'd ever planned on housing guests after all. He started a couple lamps and opened his windows to allow him light to look her over - more than the forest floor at least.

The bruises were nasty and indicated that she had a fair amount of internal bleeding underneath her marred skin, she didn't have many open wounds but there was a gash along her stomach area that was still open and didn't appear healthy…he would need to clean it and close it up.

He'd worked with medical needs on the field of battle in the war and had a good idea of how to perform many field operations - he'd never advocated the use of blastia after all. He took off his overcoat, revealing a short sleeved black shirt and simple matching pants underneath, gathering the tools he'd need and filling his bowls and other things with as much clean water as he could muster. He would have to replace his bed after this.

He began with cleaning the wound, and while she moaned and seemed in pain at least she was still unconscious for it - he didn't recall sewing people up while they were awake favorably. Once it was clean he got the needle and thread and prepared to close it carefully. It wasn't the best tools for the task, but it would do until she got a little better and could travel to a more practiced doctor.

He was about to begin when the tattoo he'd been branded with flickered with light and glowed a moment, leaving him to stare as her wound began to close and her bruises started to fade. He could sense a connection that the tattoo had forced on him and began to feel weaker.

"So that's how it works…" He mused as he looked on, unable to pull away from the process and not having the will to stop the process of healing the woman in front of him just yet. "It draws from my energy to replenish hers."

It was a formula that was similar to the one he'd planned to use to kill the Adephagos, it drew from his energy to power a healing effect on her. Though he was a little insulted he knew she hadn't inflicted this on him on purpose. It was different than when aer was such an issue for the world, the power diffused more as it gathered than aer did.

He couldn't guess with just a few instances just what this formula was capable of, though he didn't like having it there he couldn't currently do anything about it. He was through sacrificing others to solve his problems so he simply needed to wait for it to finish and the girl to wake.

It was several minutes before the glow subsided and the woman resting on his bed was completely changed, she was fully healed, not the slightest mark remained to show her injuries. Though she was still covered in dirt or blood in places, the magic had removed all of her injuries.

He blinked a bit, settling his hands on the edge of the bed, it had drawn more energy out of him than he expected…a wave of tired didn't just hit it - it more bowled him over. He settled his head on the edge of the bed, he was losing the fight with sleep and he considered the princess silently for several moments before his eyes slid shut.

"I have a feeling a whole new set of problems is about to occur." He muttered idly just before his body went limp.

**End Chapter**

**Okay so it ended on a semi-sweet note. Let me know if you think that I have Duke ooc. I suppose I could have made him more of a jerk but after the end of the game I figure he'd lighten up a bit. Thanks for reading.**

**-Nera**

**P.S. Reviews float my boat! **


	2. C2: Mysterious Benefactor

**Chapter Two:** _Mysterious Benefactor _

"_A human being is a part of the whole called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feeling as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty."_

**-Albert Einstein**

"_I need to stop waking up in unfamiliar places."_ she thought groggily as she opened her eyes, looking around the simple wooden cabin. She was on the only bed inside, though there were a couple of chairs next to a small table. A counter and some pots and dishes in a tiny makeshift kitchen took up one of the other corners - her bed in the opposite corner. A single door was placed near a fireplace though there was little actual decoration within the room.

She paused her observation of the new place she found herself within when her hand brushed against some soft hair, eyes moving down to the slumbering face of her savior. _"He looks so much kinder when he's resting..."_

It took her a moment but she recalled then that she couldn't recall much, her handsome savior was the only other person alive as far as she knew. Her body didn't hurt like it had though and she glanced down to note that her scraps and bruises were gone. _"Did he heal me?"_

She smiled lightly, it was sweet that he would sit at her bedside as he had until he fell asleep. She whispered to herself more than him. "You've helped me so much and I don't even know your name."

Even her soft tone seemed enough to stir him a little, leaving her to just watch as he slowly woke up, pulling himself back and blinking at her a couple times as his own mind took it's time restarting. "You are awake, are you feeling better?"

"Yes, did you do this?" She asked curiously, watching him as his face fell back into a cooler expression. "Healing me I mean."

"I can't take complete credit but that would be an acceptable observation for the moment. You truly don't remember how you came to be here?" He asked seriously, standing and dusting himself off. Some of his muscles were screaming indignantly when he moved, his body stiff from the uncomfortable sleeping position.

She paused and tried again to think but nothing would come to her mind, it was a complete blank before she woke up and was saved by this man. She finally shook her head negatively at his question, dirty pale blue hair swaying as she moved her head.

"No, I can't remember anything before waking up before…and just now." She said with a weary sigh. "But you acted like you knew me…said that I should have traveling companions. Do you think they'll come looking for me?"

He considered her innocent questions and watched her, she was truly ignorant of what had once transpired between them. "I do not know. If they are able to I wouldn't doubt they would seek you out. However, given the condition I found you in, there is no way of knowing if they aren't equally as disposed of as you."

"Who am I? You called me the Child of the Full Moon?" She wanted to absorb all the information she could…if she had to have something like amnesia at least she had been saved by someone that seemed to know her.

"Your companions often called you Estelle." He answered, moving still to prepare a small breakfast. He was starving even if she wasn't hungry. "Though a full explanation as to what the Child of the Full Moon is would take many hours. For simplicity's sake lets say you are the heir to the Empire's throne as well as a creature capable of effecting aer and magic in a wholly unique way."

She nodded a little, taking that all in. She was curious but she accepted his explanation without further questions, at least for the time being. The idea of the food he was working on making her stomach rumble. "Would you like some help?"

"Do you know how to make omelets?" He asked as he set out materials, glancing toward her now and again in his preparation to be polite.

"Hmm, I was never too good with breakfast's…but I could make us some peach sorbet sometime." She smiled lightly, sitting up and looking at her torn up clothing before pulling the blanket around her bashfully. "What is your name?"

"I am Duke." The white haired man noted her pulling the linen tighter around her. "I apologize but I don't keep many extra clothes. There are a few in the locker under the bed, you are welcome to them until I can escort you back to a city."

He had already started a small fire in the oven and had a pan ready, the eggs sizzling when they hit the hot metal. He had his back turned to her at least for the process as the oven was against the wall.

She nodded a little bit. She would need to get clothes of her own after all. She bend down and pulled the aforementioned locker from under the bed, opening it and picking out the smallest shirt and pair of pants she could find - which would still be much too big but it was better than the rags she had now. "Is there a bath somewhere?"

"If you go outside, there is a small path around the cottage. It will lead up and around a few hills and too a small pond with a waterfall. The water is usually a pleasant temperature this time of year. There is a towel and some soap on top of the bookshelf." He said it all without turning from cooking, adding a few ingredients to the developing omelets. "It shouldn't be long before breakfast is prepared."

"I'll try to hurry then." She promised seriously, accepting one of the towels to wrap herself in instead of the bed sheet on her way to her bath and balancing the soap on top of the clothes she'd borrowed.

As she dashed from the room he felt a small twinge in his arm, making him sigh a bit as he nearly dropped the pan he was working with. _"Just what is this? I wonder if she experiences the same sensations from the matching mark she so graciously gifted me with."_

And outside Estelle did pause in her initial dash when her hip twitched a little, slowing to a walk but not looking at her new tattoo yet. Her hip began to ache more the further she got but she pushed it off to likely being a bruise that hadn't been healed. Soaking it in water was bound to help, she knew getting clean would be.

"_I feel like I've never been this dirty in all of my life." _She thought with a mental sigh. _"I just wish I knew if that feeling was true or not."_

She moved along the path and smiled at all the beauty of the place. The grass was rarely even, overgrown all along the edges of what remained of the dirt walkway. Birds brought a natural music to the air with crickets and other forest animals, though those noises began to die off as she turned a corner to see the waterfall that had been mentioned.

It was breathtaking, a clear sparkling water falling into a small pool that was gathered before continuing off down a break in the surrounding hills to create a stream that moved further off into the forest. There were more bugs than she would have liked but the lovely landscape more than made up for what little of the wildlife that was bothering her. A deer was standing on the other edge of the pond, drinking with a small doe…it brought a wide smile to Estelle's face when the creature glanced up at her then turned it's head back down to continue drinking.

"I like it here." She commented lightly. "Everything is so untouched by man."

"_Maybe I'm from a city if I think like that."_ She pondered as she started to get undressed, though her contemplation was cut short when she noted the tattoo. _"What in the world is that!? I didn't have a tattoo before! Wait…did I?"_

She tried to think, to remember anything, and then frowned when she continued to come up blank…glaring at the blue mark on her leg like it might have the answers her mind was refusing her. _"I'm sure I never had anything like that…well…as sure as I can be."_

She wanted to stare a little longer but the need to be clean took over the want to stare at her tattoo, she would have time for that later when she was less naked in the open woods and more hygienic.

Estelle's toe tested the water before she waded in, as she'd been promised the tempature was nice. It was a little cool given the morning hour but she could survive if it meant getting all this dirt off her skin and out of her hair. She used a good chunk of the soap scrubbing herself completely over…nails making sure to get anything caked on her scalp. _"I have to admit this water is so clear…even when I use the soap it washes though so quickly that it barely has time to keep suds."_

The water washing over her was nice but she knew she shouldn't dwell too long and stepped back out of the pool to pick up the towel she'd settled and dry off before getting dressed in the far too big clothes. _"It's a good thing I picked up a belt. I feel like a little kid trying on their parents clothes."_

She was adorable in her own way being in Duke's much more serious style of uniform, her hair much closer to his in color than it once was - but she couldn't really see her hair and wouldn't have known for sure what color it once was even if she did. Instead she picked up her things and made sure she left the area uncluttered as she moved back toward the cabin. Her stomach was grumbling at her more now that she could smell the food within.

The water had also done the trick, as she headed back she noted that her hip was feeling much better. Opening the door and moving back inside, smiling at the still cooking Duke. _"He even looks so serious when he makes an omelet…I wonder why he's so rigid…I guess he must have been a soldier sometime from the uniforms but it doesn't seem like anyone that was still an army would live -here- of all places, all alone."_

"That smells wonderful." She complimented, finding a hamper for the dirty towel and piling her dirt caked clothes near the door as to not track anything into the cleanly cabin. "What else is in it?"

"Vegetables mostly, a lot of things that grow in the local area but also some that I picked up in Halure or I grow myself." He answered honestly, settling a plate on his table and gesturing to the omelet for her. "Go ahead and eat, mine is almost ready."

"Thank you so much…for everything." She said with the same smile in place. "I really can't thank you enough. If you hadn't come along I don't know what would have happened to me."

"Well, given that most people think there are monsters and ghosts inhabiting this forest I doubt anyone else would have found you." He again replied in all honesty, he wasn't one to lie.

"Really?" She glanced around nervously, her voice lowering just a notch when she brought up her next question. "Are there really ghosts and monsters here?"

He considered her a moment at that, glancing between her and the nearly finished second omelet. "No. I live here because of those rumors…it keeps me from getting a load of unwanted visitors."

"That seems so lonely." Estelle was watching him with a bit of sadness. "Why do you want to live here all alone?"

"That's not relevant to your situation." Duke had the habit of holding back things he didn't want to tell after all. "Please don't tell people that they are just rumors when we do travel to Halure to see if we can find your companions."

"Sure." She chimed between bites of her breakfast. "It's the least I can do. Halure is the city protected by the tree barrier isn't it? I've heard about it somewhere, I think it would be lovely. When do you think we'll leave to travel?"

"If you are feeling up to it we can leave after we've eaten, no need to delay." He settled his own plate on the counter (he didn't have a second chair for his table) and put the fire out before settling the hot pan out of the reach of anything it could hurt. _"She really doesn't remember anything. She's the one that saved the place and she doesn't even know she was there."_

"I am feeling a lot better and I wouldn't want anyone to worry about me so I think leaving then would be best." Estelle agreed, still pondering her mysterious savior…she knew so little about him even though he knew so much about her. It felt unfair.

**End Chapter**

_Originally I was going to put Duke as living in Egothor Forest but I didn't recall any towns being nearby…for my plot I needed them to travel so I decided to shove him in Quoi Woods instead. And describing Halure will be a challenge - it was SOOOOOO pretty in the game._

_-Nera_

_P.S. Thank you for the reviews. Even if they were few they made me feel all warm and fuzzy._


	3. C3: Evening the Odds

**_Chapter Three: Evening the Odds_**

"_Who knows what true loneliness is - not the conventional word but the naked terror? To the lonely themselves it wears a mask. The most miserable outcast hugs some memory or some illusion."_

_**-Joseph Conrad **_

The forests were beautiful but with all the insects of the summertime Estelle was a bit relieved when the walk had led them into the plains. So far her plan to use the travel time to Halure to get personal information from her unsuspecting savior had been failing. He kept a fairly quick pace that made it difficult to have a normal conversation - not aided by the fact that she was getting easily winded thanks to her recent injuries.

They had stopped to rest very few times and she didn't want to complain or slow him down so she just followed along, using most of her free breath to mutter curses about the mosquito's that were plaguing them. Though she had given up on tugging up the large clothing she'd been forced to borrow and instead was just holding her pants up the whole day while they walked.

She was relieved when they stepped onto the windy plains, the less vegetation would mean less bugs to bother them both, with the sun starting to set in the distance it seemed like they would be camping out about a half-mile from where they'd left the woods.

Duke went about preparing a camp site with the supplies he'd carried with, leaving Estelle with little to do but start the fire and watch him set up the scent barrier that would ward off monsters for a time. He was still so serious, crimson eyes always forward and concentrating on the task at hand…no nonsense.

"Are you a soldier?" Estelle had gotten enough of her breath back that she got right back to her desire to learn more about the pale man near her. "You have these uniforms…but you live in the woods alone."

He paused at that, blinking and glancing over to her for a short shocked moment before returning to the task at hand. He needed to take a moment to remind himself that she'd lost her memory. "I was a soldier once but I am not anymore. I just keep this sword to defend myself or my home should the need arise."

She nodded a little, watching him return to his preparations and pulling her overlarge sleeves up so she could use her hands to dig the rations from the backpack. "Did you work for the empire?"

"No." He kept his replies short and precise.

"Who were you a soldier for?" She pressed, popping a couple dried berries in her mouth as she continued to watch the albino like man.

"I'm not sure what you remember." He spoke as he turned back toward her once he finished setting the barrier up and moved closer. "It is complicated but once the war was finally resolved I came here to have time away from humanity."

"Why?" She canted her head innocently, light blue locks falling across her cheeks and onto her forehead. Completely unaware that the topic she'd chosen was one of his most difficult.

"I don't trust humanity." He replied, his voice getting more and more distance and cooler with the answer to each question. He seated himself not far from her and didn't meet her naïve gaze as he reached to get a few of the rations himself.

When he touched Estelle's hand instead he couldn't help but glance over, a spark of energy seeming to flow through him at the contact…the soft smile on her face kept him watching her in return. She didn't seem to have experienced the same instance of power he had felt by her expression.

"I'm sorry that you feel that way." The sentiment was followed by a gentle squeeze of his hand. "We can talk about something else if you'd like."

"_Is this part of what it means to be the Child of the Full Moon? Her powers originally manifested themselves in the ability to heal…"_ He thought as he slowly nodded in reply, glancing away from her trusting face and toward the fire. "Yes, I think that would be best."

"Sure." She chimed, glancing outward toward the west, the sunset casting a watercolor spectrum of oranges, burgundy, mauve, gold, and other autumn colors across the horizon. The deepening red before it bled into a deeper plum somehow reminded her of the detached crimson eyes of her rescuer. "You don't have to answer my questions but…do you get lonely out there by yourself?"

"It's not something I dwell on." He answered quietly, the conversation was a nice reprieve from the forest creatures he normally kept company with. "I enjoy the friends I do have there. It is a simple life but I am content for the first time in a while with my life there."

"I'm glad I got to meet you…even if the circumstances should probably bother me more than they do." She said, closing her eyes as a gust of wind curled through her hair, and caressed her face. "I suppose it's not the first time I've met you either but I'm still glad if I had to be saved by someone that it was you."

Duke found that his eyes had slipped back to the younger woman that was enjoying such a simple piece of nature. It was still a little bizarre that her hair had changed from the pink it had been to the gentle sapphire it was now. Even though her green eyes were closed he could picture those innocent jade orbs easily enough the way they'd stared at him so much over the past two days. She was what most would consider adorable the way she fit into his uniform - or failed to fit would be the better description.

Her kind attitude hadn't changed at all with the loss of her memory, though her observation that she was taking it in stride was something he had to agree with. He had no previous experience with amnesia but he assumed people would react with more panic than she had thus far. He rubbed his arm with the tattoo through the fabric, he'd yet to bring it up for the very purpose of not frightening her but he knew that the subject was not something that could be avoided for too much longer. He couldn't simply leave her somewhere, even Halure, without some sort of answer to this enigma.

"_I suppose I should enjoy this lull while it's here. I imagine that once we do catch up with her companions they will be less than pleased with this change in situation."_ He thought to himself as he considered the past two days and the girl that had literally fallen into his life.

"Would you mind if after I figure out what's wrong and get my memory back if I visited you again sometime?" The question caught him off-guard, something this young lady seemed to be good at doing to him. He found that she had begun watching him again while he'd gotten lost in thought.

He shook his head lightly and smiled. "I would not mind that lady Estelle. Though we should worry about fixing your memory before thinking that far ahead. It's getting late and we'll want to set out early…you should go ahead and get some rest…I'll keep watch for a while."

"Are you going to sleep?" The concern inherit in that inquiry would have been endearing for most. Duke did his best not to really think too deeply on the actions of his temporary ward.

"I will…but in a while. You seemed to have a difficult time today…go ahead and try to get some sleep." He replied without looking back at her, still considering the dancing orange flames warding off the growing darkness.

"Okay." She finally agreed, that was a fact she couldn't possibly argue with. Her body ached from all the walking after the near-death fall she'd taken. She laid down on the grass and folded the too long sleeves under her head before closing her eyes. The ground still wasn't comfortable but her exhaustion was catching up so fast she didn't really have much time to think about it before passing out.

Her protector meanwhile had taken the chance in her slumber to look back over the tattoo that she'd left him with unawares. It was definitely akin to a formula similar to that he had planned to use on the Adephegos but now that he had more time to look at it in detail he noted that there were minor differences in the ways it were written that made him think it wasn't made to work with aer directly…perhaps it was something that could deal with the more diffused version that had been called mana, though he wasn't nearly enough of an expert to know for certain.

One thing he was certain of was that it would tie him to Estelle until he could figure out a way to rid himself of the circular blue drawing etched into his flesh. By his own decision if nothing else mystical was involved…it didn't seem to be any sort of active spell now that she wasn't injured like before but he wasn't about to ignore the spark of energy that had teased his hand and danced along his arm when he'd brushed her earlier…

"I just wonder what else you'll stir up in my life…just when I'd finally gotten content with things…" He thought idly as he laid on the other side of the dying embers of the fire to get some rest himself before they continued the trek tomorrow.

_**ooooo ooooo ooooo ooooo ooooo ooooo ooooo**_

Pink.

It was the best first word to describe halure.

Millions of the gentle salmon petals permeated the blossom scented air and frosted the ground of the city built into the base of the hill where the monstrous tree that was the cities livelihood. Almost as if a constant rain of pink petals blessed the village, frosting every possible surface in a cherry pastel.

Estelle was at the entryway to the small town gaping up at the massive tree that held miles of the surrounding area protectively under it's branches. She had her head all the way back as she tried to take in as much of the great reach of it's limbs as she could, leaning so far that she started to backward from a combination of the odd stance and a sudden lightheadedness that came with the uncommon posture.

Before she fell onto her behind an arm was holding her up steadily, giving her the moment to regain her balance and saving her from the embarrassing fall. She glanced toward the taller albino man and smiled at him sheepishly.

"Thanks." She looked right back to the tree when he didn't even look back at her. "It's just so breathtaking…I never imagined it would be this beautiful or huge."

"It is a unique creature." Duke agreed, taking his arm back from around her when she didn't seem like she was going to trip any longer. _"She really doesn't remember Halure, or saving the tree…which means I'll need to stay nearby until she regains her memory. It's the only chance I have of learning what this brand means."_

He sighed gently, glancing up to the tree to share a part of her wonder for it's beauty…though the sweet moments never seem to last as he found himself slapped by a petite angry brunette girl with goggles in her hair. Her makeshift, patchy outfit he'd always found a little bizarre but now he let a ivory brow raise at the unprovoked attack, irritated but not ready to start a fight at the entrance to the city just yet.

"You…should have known you would be involved!" Rita snapped irritably, hands moving to her hips as she started to chew out the taller man. "You have some nerve having Estelle with you and not trying to find us sooner! We have all been worried sick about her…hey Estelle are you okay? This guy didn't try anything inappropriate with you did he?"

Estelle was blinking in surprise at the scene that had just played out in front of her and the strange girl yelling at her companion. She didn't notice the slight twitch on Duke's face after the assault. "I'm sorry…I know you? Are you one of the people I normally travel with?"

That question left Rita sputtering for a short moment before she managed to form a response, turning more frustration Duke's way, barely inches away from him when she started speaking again. "What did you do to Estelle?! What's wrong with her? Oh, I never liked you!"

"Lady Estelle fell from the sky near my home." Duke answered in a deadpan tone, starting to get irritated with the brown-haired teenager. "She has amnesia, she didn't remember me when she woke and I brought her here figuring we could find one of the group that used to travel with her."

"Your home?" Rita blinked in a moment of confusion, she had never known where he lived but had never thought it would be near Halure. "Wait…she only fell from the ship a few days ago…why isn't she still injured? And why is her hair blue? What did you do?"

"Um…" Estelle broke in, sensing that vocal arguments weren't going to be the only thing happening if she didn't diffuse the situation. "Maybe we should find somewhere else to talk about this? I think we're scaring people."

The travelers and merchants coming in and out of the city were indeed taking a wide berth around the trio, though some of them were simply because they were aware of who Rita was and didn't want to be nearby when she was so angry.

"Fine." Rita agreed after a moment, folding her arms across her chest. "Karol is at the inn and will want to see that you're okay anyway. We can talk there…just don't try anything you!"

She pointed dramatically at Duke and turned sharply around, the long pieces of cloth on her sleeves snapping in the air at her quick movement. Leaving the pair behind her to watch her start walking off. Estelle leaned over to Duke, standing up on her toes a little more to whisper to him. "Is she really one of the people I travel with all the time? She seems really angry."

"Yes, though I think she is often like this." Duke replied with a shrug. "We had better be after her before she gets more unreasonable."

Estelle nodded lightly, starting to walk with the albino man and seeming to think about things. "Is Karol another one of my previous companions? She said he'd be worried."

"Yes, I believe he was a younger timid boy." Duke explained to her as best he could. He didn't know much about her companions but at the moment a little was infinitely more than nothing. "I am surprised that the others aren't here as well but they might have split up to search for you."

"Oh." It was all she could say, trying to remember but finding her brain wouldn't allow her to concentrate. She walked along and followed them into a piece of one of the great tree's roots that had been carved out to make the inn. It even smelled of freshly cut wood and had a homey feel to it, she would have looked around more if she wasn't distracted by her thoughts. Once they entered the room where Rita and Karol were staying the boy leaped over and hugged her.

"Estelle, I didn't know if you were okay after you fell off the ship!" Karol exclaimed, his eyes red from where he'd been crying. "What happened to you?"

She offered the boy a hug back and patted his shoulder awkwardly, she didn't remember him but if he was so concerned about her she must have known him before. "I…well…it's hard to say."

He sniffled and backed up, rubbing his nose and looking at her then over to Rita and back to her. "Why is your hair blue?"

"She has amnesia Karol, and before you ask it means she can't remember who she is and doesn't know who we are." Rita explained insultingly. "Duke here found her near wherever he lives, which must be near the Quoi Woods judging from when she fell off the ship. She doesn't know who we are and obviously didn't know who Duke was if she's traveling with him now. Do you remember anything Estelle?"

"No." She shook her head, robin egg blue locks shifting with the motion. "And what's the matter with Duke? He's been very kind to me, he healed me when I was injured."

"What do you mean?" Rita was back on the warpath, jumping up from her seat on one of the beds and heading back over toward the white-haired man. "Are you the one going around trying to tell people you can set back up the barriers?"

**End Chapter**

I like to write for these two. I'm such a fan girl of guys with silver hair and red eyes - something about the combination is just dead sexy. Is that too honest? Anyway, the plot is slowly thickening.

_-Nera_

_P.S. Thanks for the continued support and I'm glad to see that a Tales of Vesperia section was added! Many thanks for those that helped with getting it opened._


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